“We needed to find solutions to a variety of issues whilst being a complex business, operating in a 24/7 environment. Stripe OLT listened and understood immediately the challenges we faced.”
“We needed to find solutions to a variety of issues whilst being a complex business, operating in a 24/7 environment. Stripe OLT listened and understood immediately the challenges we faced.”
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“We needed to find solutions to a variety of issues whilst being a complex business, operating in a 24/7 environment. Stripe OLT listened and understood immediately the challenges we faced.”
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An IT disaster recovery plan (DPR) is essentially a roadmap designed to manage the disruptions of an unforeseen incident (such as a data breach or ransomware attack). Many small businesses may not see the value in establishing a disaster recovery plan until it’s too late, leaving their data and their client’s data at severe risk.
The likelihood of your business experiencing a cyber-attack is higher than you might think. In fact, since the pandemic hit and offices made the necessary shift to remote work and subsequent hybrid working, cybercrimes have increased significantly by 600%.
It’s important to recognise that even the tiniest vulnerability in your cybersecurity system or a single misguided click on a malicious link, can grant cybercriminals access to your business’s entire: computer systems, potentially compromising your sensitive data. The impact of cyber attacks can vary, with some instantly undermining your networks, while others can remain undetected for weeks or even months. However, all cyber attacks share the potential to inflict severe damage on your business, both financially and reputationally, meaning recovery may be challenging.
Unfortunately, there is no foolproof method of complete protection against cyber attacks. However, this doesn’t mean businesses are defenceless. By taking proactive measures, such as establishing a disaster recovery plan, developing robust security protocols, and prioritising employee education, organisations can significantly minimize their risk of cyber-attacks.
Picture this: you’ve just discovered that your business has fallen victim to a cyber attack. Panic sets in as you realize you have no clue about the extent of the damage, the source of the attack, or the costs involved in recovering from it. To make matters worse, you don’t have a business continuity plan or a disaster recovery plan in place. You have no idea what to do.
A 2023 statistic stated that 93% of companies without a Disaster Recovery plan who suffer a major data disaster are out of business within one year, and 96% of companies with a trusted backup and disaster recovery plan were able to survive ransomware attacks.
A disaster recovery plan (DRP) focuses on the restoration of IT systems and data, whereas a business continuity plan (BCP) provides a comprehensive framework to ensure the continuity of critical business functions and processes.
Conducting a business impact analysis (BIA) is a critical preliminary step in both disaster recovery and business continuity planning, helping organizations assess potential risks and determine essential business functions that must be prioritized during emergencies to ensure minimal disruption and efficient recovery. Both plans are designed to minimize the overall impact of disruptions on an organization’s operations.
The DRP addresses the technical aspects of the disaster recovery process, while the BCP takes a holistic approach, considering people, processes, facilities, and external dependencies to maintain essential operations during and after a disruptive event.
To achieve a successful recovery from a disaster, businesses must first recognise the various types of disasters which have the potential to affect their operations. Once these are established, organisations can develop a comprehensive DPR tailored to address the specific challenges posed by each type of disaster.
Three primary types of disasters warrant consideration: natural disasters, physical disasters, and technology-based disasters. By acknowledging these categories, organisations can better prepare themselves to respond effectively to potential crises.
Take stock of your physical assets and consider how they might be affected by a natural disaster. For instance, organisations relying on a server in a central office will experience a more significant disruption compared to those utilising cloud-based or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions. Flooding or storms can also impact communication capabilities, we recommend evaluating the viability of your phone systems, cell phones, power supply, and even plumbing and fire control systems during a natural disaster.
The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a prime example of a natural disaster which significantly altered work dynamics. Future health-related concerns may require significant workflow adjustments once again. Ultimately, understanding the interplay between your assets, technology infrastructure, and the specific type of natural disaster is crucial for determining the impact on your organisation. These are the types of inquiries that should guide the development of your disaster recovery (DR) plan.
Similar to natural disasters, physical disasters can significantly impact your work environment and operations. In some cases, a physical disaster, such as a power outage, may necessitate temporary remote work arrangements. However, depending on your assets, you may need to relocate not only your personnel but also your technology infrastructure. It is essential to evaluate the potential consequences of physical disasters, in order to develop appropriate mitigation strategies. This includes considering alternative work arrangements, assessing the need for infrastructure relocation, and recognising the potential effects on technology and operations.
Technology disasters are the most probable disasters an organisation will face, this category encompasses a variety of impacts which must be addressed and specifically planned around in your DRP. Fortunately, we provide numerous solutions to assist in managing technology disasters, such as Managed SOC, incident response and of course Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity.
It is important to differentiate between incidents and disasters based on their impact on the organisation. Some issues may be better categorised as incidents, warranting a specialised approach to resolution.
By acknowledging the distinct nature of technology disasters and utilising appropriate resources, organisations can effectively address these challenges and safeguard their operations.
In the event of a cyber attack, sensitive business data is at risk of compromise. Without a DR plan, the identification and isolation of the attack can take longer, leaving your data vulnerable. Delayed action increases the likelihood of sensitive customer and partner information falling into the wrong hands. Furthermore, if you lack secure data backups, the damage caused by a data breach can be irreparable.
A severe cyber incident can bring your business operations to a halt if you don’t have disaster recovery plans in place. A recovery plan ensures a faster resumption of operations. On the other hand, a disorganised and chaotic response to the incident exacerbates the situation, prolonging the recovery process. Downtime leads to financial losses in terms of revenue and employee productivity, which can be particularly detrimental to smaller businesses.
The longer it takes to recover from a cyber attack, the more financial strain your company will experience. Business owners often underestimate the costs associated with recovering from a data breach. Expenses include data recreation, loss of profit, potential lawsuits, and the need for system overhauls that require new hardware and infrastructure. Being caught without implementing a disaster recovery plan can have devastating financial consequences that some businesses may never recover from.
Having a disaster recovery plan demonstrates responsible business practices, earning the trust of your partners, vendors, and clients. While it may not be the first question they ask when entering into an agreement, the absence of a DR plan can raise concerns about the reliability and security of your most critical business operations. In the modern-day digital landscape, all parties involved are at risk, making a recovery plan a top priority for potential collaborators.
As highlighted above, a disaster interrupting your organisation’s workflow can create significant repercussions to your operations and customer relations. A key example of a successful and smooth implementation of a disaster recovery plan is Stripe OLT’s work with Target Media, who bounced back after a burst pipe destroyed their servers and e-mail data.
The disaster recovery plan put in place by Stripe OLT prepared them to retrieve Target Media’s data from their local backup, in just 4 hours. Target Media didn’t have time to waste, so efficiency and speed became a number one priority, empowering them to get back up and running with minimal downtime.
Through establishing a comprehensive disaster recovery plan, Target Media were able to pivot and sustain normal business operations even under challenging circumstances, proving the importance of forward-thinking DRP strategies. Alex Eley, Stripe OLT’S technical Director commented: “We advised Target Media on their robust backup policy, and it has really paid dividends in this case”.
Having a clear understanding of your plan of action before, during and after a cyber attack is crucial in navigating the aftermath and minimizing potential damage. To build a disaster recovery plan suited to your business, follow these steps:
Organisations that operate proprietary data centres must establish comprehensive disaster recovery strategies encompassing all IT infrastructure components within the facility. These strategies typically involve creating backups located in secondary data centres or co-location facilities. It is essential for business and IT leaders to thoroughly document the physical aspects of these data centre facilities, including heating, cooling, power supply, fire response systems, and security controls.
Network connectivity plays a vital role in both internal and external communication, application accessibility, and data sharing during a disaster. A network disaster recovery strategy should outline a plan to restore network services and ensure access to backup data and secondary data storage sites.
Virtualisation technology enables organisations to replicate workloads in secondary locations or cloud environments for disaster recovery purposes. Virtualised disaster recovery offers flexibility, easy implementation, rapid execution, and efficient resource utilisation. Virtualised workloads have minimal IT footprints, support frequent replication, and enable swift failover initiation.
Organisations have the option to host their disaster recovery systems in cloud environments rather than physical locations. Cloud-based disaster recovery entails more than just cloud backup. IT teams need to configure automatic workload failover to the disaster recovery cloud platform, enabling immediate recovery in the event of a disruption. Additionally, disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS) can be a cloud-based solution that provides comprehensive disaster recovery capabilities without the need for physical infrastructure.
One of the fundamental aspects of a disaster recovery plan is to clearly articulate the goals and objectives to be achieved. This includes determining the recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO). These goals will guide the design and operation of IT systems on a daily basis, influencing factors such as backup frequency, network design, and the use of cloud services.
It is crucial to identify and assign clear responsibilities to individuals responsible for executing the steps outlined in the DRP. Regular updates should be made, including details of alternate personnel in case of illness or vacation. A well-developed DR plan should provide sufficient detail to enable a wide range of personnel to carry out the required tasks. Relying solely on a few key individuals who possess the knowledge can pose significant risks and it is better to assigned a disaster recovery team.
This section should encompass a comprehensive inventory of IT assets, including servers, networking systems, and software licenses. Additionally, it is essential to include details of any cloud services being utilised. The inventory should provide a summary of the applications or tools running on each system.
Data holds immense value for a business, making it a critical aspect of any DR plan. It is essential to ensure that data is backed up effectively and stored in appropriate locations. Only having an onsite copy of backup data may prove insufficient in the event of a fire or other disasters. The RTO and RPO requirements, established in the objectives section, should guide the backup strategies.
Recovering systems and data is not as simple as restoring the previously backed-up data. Disaster recovery planning should consider how to recover any data generated since the last backup and address potential cybersecurity issues to prevent infected or compromised backups.
Depending on the RTO and RPO objectives, it may be necessary to consider remote “hot” disaster recovery sites capable of backing up or replicating systems. Even for smaller businesses, it is crucial to contemplate alternate locations for systems and users in the event of a disaster affecting the main site, beyond just the systems themselves. A combination of cloud computing and remote working can be explored as part of the overall solution.
While the DR plan primarily focuses on restoring critical system functionality, it is also important to consider the recovery of secondary systems and the process of migrating back to a normal IT environment. Incorporating this aspect into the DR plan helps set expectations regarding timelines and budget, while also informing earlier DR decisions.
Prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
A disaster recovery plan in information security is a comprehensive set of documented procedures and strategies designed to ensure the rapid and effective recovery of an organization’s IT infrastructure and data assets in the event of a disruptive incident or disaster.
An example of a disaster recovery strategy is the implementation of data backup measures, which enable businesses to restore lost data in the event of accidental deletion or a cyberattack, such as ransomware. By regularly creating duplicate copies of critical data and storing them in secure offsite locations, organisations can ensure the availability and integrity of their information assets, even in the face of unforeseen circumstances.
A disaster recovery plan is primarily concerned with restoring IT systems and data, a business continuity plan is a comprehensive framework that aims to sustain critical business functions and business processes, both are designed to minimize the overall impact of disruptions on the organisation’s operations. The two plans often work in conjunction, with the DRP being a subset of the broader BCP.
It is essential to regularly review and update disaster recovery plans, typically on an annual basis. However, certain systems and procedures require more frequent testing. For instance, data backups should undergo integrity and recoverability tests at least once a week. By adhering to a regular testing schedule, organisations can proactively identify and address any issues, strengthen their disaster recovery planning capabilities, and enhance the overall readiness to respond to potential disruptions.
Disaster recovery software is a critical tool used in disaster recovery. These tools include data backup solutions, replication software, and automated recovery systems. They help organizations quickly restore IT systems and data, ensuring minimal downtime and data loss during a disaster.
Creating a disaster recovery plan can make or break how your organisation handles a cyber attack, ensuring your finances, reputation and operations face as little interruption as possible. Our team of highly certified cloud and security engineers can help you establish and deliver a well-structured disaster recovery plan which prioritises business continuity and ensures reduced recovery time.
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